The minimum salary in Chicago is $12.00 per hour. This is a good amount for those who are just starting out in the workforce and are looking to gain experience. However, the minimum salary in Chicago may not be enough to cover all of your expenses, especially if you have a family or are living on your own.
If you are looking to increase your monthly income, there are many ways that you can do so including working extra hours, taking on side jobs, or even requesting a raise at your current employer.
Minimum Salary In Chicago
As of July 1, 2022 the minimum wage in Chicago is $15.40 per hour for employers with 21 or more workers, and $14.50 per hour for employers with 4 to 20 workers. Tipped workers (workers who receive tips as part of their wage, like restaurant servers) have a minimum wage of $8.70 for employers with 4 to 20 workers, and $9.24 for employers with 21 or more workers. If a tipped worker’s wages plus tips do not equal at least the full minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference.
As of July 1, 2022, the Minimum Wage to be paid under City contracts or concessionaire agreements pursuant to the Order is $16.00 per hour. When applying an allowance for gratuities to the wage of City concessionaire employees in positions that customarily receive gratuities, the resulting rate is $8.20 per hour.
Every July 1, Chicago’s minimum wage increases per the Minimum Wage Ordinance. The Chicago minimum wage is tiered for large businesses with 21 or more employees, and small businesses with 4-20 employees. The minimum wage for larger employees increases annually according to the Consumer Price Index or 2.5%, whichever is lower, since reaching $15 per hour in 2021. The minimum wage for small businesses continues to increase towards $15 per hour by 2023.
Summer is in full swing and with the beautiful weather comes increases in pay for hourly employees. On July 1, 2021, the minimum wage increased for employers with employees who work in Chicago. The minimum wage in Chicago increased to $15.00 per hour for employers with more than 20 employees and to $14.00 per hour for employers with 4 to 20 employees. The minimum wage for employers in suburban Cook County remained the same at $13.00 per hour. Many suburbs opted-out of the Cook County Minimum Wage Ordinance; therefore, employers should check whether their suburb opted-out.
With the increase in the Chicago minimum wage, the minimum wage paid to tipped employees also increased. In Chicago, the minimum wage paid to tipped employees increased to $9.00 per hour for employers with more than 20 employees and $8.40 per hour for employers with 4 to 20 employees. Although the minimum wage for non-tipped employees in Cook County remained the same, the minimum wage for tipped employees increased to $6.60 per hour.
Employers will also have to inform employees of these increases in writing. Chicago employers must provide all employees a notice of the increases with the first paycheck after July 1.
Employers with tipped employees have additional notice obligations. Under federal law, employers must notify tipped employees that the employer is taking the tip credit, including any changes to their rate of pay. The tip credit notice must inform the tipped employee:
- of the new hourly rate;
- the amount of the tip credit taken (i.e., the difference between the full minimum wage and the tipped minimum wage);
- that all tips received by the employee must be retained by the employee (except for tip pooling/sharing arrangements); and
- that the tip credit will not be taken for employees who do not receive the notice.
The tip credit notice need not be in writing, but it is a best practice to provide a written notice and have employees acknowledge receipt.
